Relative clauses

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Relative clauses

what is a relative clause?

My brother, who is 24 years old, still lives at home

Relative Clause

FORM: 

The thief, who robbed an old lady, was sent to jail.

FUNCTION:

A relative clause gives extra information on something or someone.

Relative Clauses

who - for people

which - for things and animals

that - for people, animals and things

That = more informal than who/which

that - NEVER between 2 commas

Relative clauses

FUNCTION: They provide extra information

Defining relative clauses: Have information that cannot be left out, that is necessary to understand the sentence.

Non-defining relative clauses: Have extra information that is not so important and can be left out.

Relative pronouns

• Refer to another word in the sentence
  
• Link 2 parts (clauses) of the sentence together

Martin played Tennis with Sophie, who was slightly injured.

relative pronoun

Noa sold her phone, which was old and damaged.

relative pronoun

Defining relative clauses

Defining relative clauses:  

• provide information you need to understand the sentence
• Are in the middle / end of the sentence
• Don't use commas!

He is the doctor who helped my grandmother.

This is the airport where I lost my bag.

Non-defining relative clauses

Non-defining relative clauses:  

• give unimportant information
• Are in the middle / end of the sentence
• Start and end with a comma
• You cannot use THAT in these clauses

The Times, which is published in London, is a daily newspaper.

The Times is a daily newspaper.

Reduced relative clauses

Reduced relative clauses:

• Instead of the relative pronoun and verb, a present participle is used for active verbs and a past participle for passive verbs.
  Example: Elderly people living alone (= who live alone) should have family to care for them

Which RELATIVE CLAUSE fits?
I want to read the book........you gave me.

1. which, that , who
2. which, that, X
3. who, whose, whom
4. which, that

Which RELATIVE CLAUSE fits?
The officer, ....... John told his story to, was nice

1. who(m), that
2. who(m), that, X
3. who, whom
4. which, that

We had spaghetti, .... is my favourite meal, for dinner last night.

1. whom
2. whose
3. which
4. who

Which relative pronouns do you use to refer to people?

1. who(m), whose, that
2. who and which
3. which and whom
4. whose and where

He is a famous architect ...
designs won an international award last year.

1. who
2. which
3. that
4. whose

This is Mary, ...
is taking over my job when I leave.

1. who
2. which
3. that
4. whose

The photocopier, ...
has a two-year guarantee, cost $2000.

1. who
2. which
3. that
4. whose

He is the consultant ...
advice I rely on.

1. whose
2. who
3. that
4. whom

The people ...
were stopped at the border were all from Eastern Europe.

1. whose
2. which
3. that
4. whom

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